Thanks everyone for joining in last night! I think it was a really informative net!
Net Notes: Friday May 29, 2020
Net Control KT4OZ
Topic: APRS
Check-ins:
VA2EEK- Don- Quebec:
APRS: Make sure dual band radio is on correct channel. 2: In Ca and Wa have good coverage but not much coverage in Canada but good cell coverage so use radio-hotspot-phone for SAR use. On digital side, using ranging to send packets to gauge distance between radios and heading. Mentioned Tactical APRS SARTrack.co.nz uses mapping and radio logging.
KM4GHN- Mitch- Virginia:
Monitoring, not much to say about APRS. Going to be pretty day here, going riding tomorrow.
AA1PR- Mike- Vermont:
Knows nothing about APRS. Thinking about 868 or 878. Concerened about being tracked by non-hams.
W4BKR- Sean- Virginia:
Diving quite deep into APRS thanks to Terry. Setting in APRS called "position ambiguity" so you can limit the accuracy of the APRS tracking. Trying to bluetooth tablet to TM-D710G. Always something to learn. 2: Has list of stuff to look up. No one mentioned Winlink via APRS over special linked gateways. Still working on getting it working. One more thing on the list.
W8ILL- Will- Michigan:
Beautiful day. Woke up to hard rain but quit about mid day. Went for a ride to local parks, but too many people out. Good that folks can get out now. Got 746 radio working good. Has waterfall on the radio. Made 75 and 40m contacts. Band conditions are crazy. 2nd: Hard to get back on internet sometimes. Internet is slow. Going back to get stents out Tuesday.
KN6IQS- Sean- California:
Not experience with APRS. Joining in to learn. Fairly new ham.
KA7OLE- Ole- Washington:
Favorite APRS story from trail run: Has 710 and friend with 710. was nice to maintain group size on the ride. Concern about theft/privacy: Data is stored and tracked on APRS.FI but uses commands to limit data transfer through the message. aprs.fi will ignore info sent with proper commands. 2. Has used APRS and 710 to Android head unit with programming cable from serial port on kenwood to the usb on the head unit and run APRSDroid on the head unit. No need for external tnc with 710G. Using Offline Maps version of APRSDroid and now using with online version and phone hotspot.
KJ7KPP- Colton- Idaho:
Not much to add on APRS. Seems useful. Appreicate the tips on it. What do you need to use APRS? VA2EEK: Comment on digital APRS Is a little different on DMR because of digital packets. Can sneak them into the regular digital transmissions during voice operation. Just bought new dmr radio (Anytone 878UV w/ Bluetooth) with digital and analog APRS. Must use digital repeater freq to use digital APRS. Anytone 578 mobile with both Dig/An APRS. 2: Nothing to add but thanks for sharing info.
KM4PJN- Jimmy- Virginia:
Has anytone 878 but haven't used APRS. Will try to use it. For privacy: tracking through cell phones as well, can turn off for that and battery use. 2: Sees a lot of benefit in this and might jump in pretty quick for use for work. Has MFJ TNC2 that might work.
W7BR- Brent- Wyoming:
1 and done: No announcements. Limited access to service.
N7PHY- Ed- Washington:
Not well versed in APRS but was gifted a TNC, Moblinkd.
KK6RBI- Josh- Texas:
Dabbled with APRS since getting license in 2014. $40 trakphone w/o sim card with Baofeng BFF8HP and 1/4w antenna on the fender. Uses setup for storm chasing. Will also use cell phone. So far setup has worked well. Also has UV25X2 with TRRS that will use speaker and PTT. Have not tried with APRSDroid yet.
KF5UZW- Mark- Texas:
Great net, everything covered he was going to mention.
KE3R- -Iowa:
In/Out
VK7VWK- Randall- Tasmania:
Interested in APRS but not sure how much use it gets in Tasmania/Aus. Haven't dabbled in it much. Thought it was more about location. Will dabble in it eventually. On an APRS mailing list for area and there is some mention of 10m. Nice day there considering it's supposed to be winter. 2. Nothing to add
KJ7EXK- Dana- Wyoming:
Barely started playing with APRS about a year ago. Bought BTECH DMR radio similar to Anytone with digital and analog APRS. Has APRS analog digipeater close. Just started playing with it at beginning of quarantine. Took a drive to play with it to verify it tracking. 2: Nothing to add but lots of great info on the net.
KJ7DUE- Kim- Montana:
Haven't played with aprs much but looked on aprs.fi. Has Icom digital radios to track location. With Ole on trail ride and had someone putting out APRS on 146.460. 2:
KK6DWJ- Brian- California:
First time checking in to the net. Been dabbling with APRS for 3-4 months and uses 857d with Moblinkd. Trying to get it working on Winlink. Also have FT3DR HT.
KO4BDT- Mike- Virginia:
Still learning about APRS.
Links:
WXBOT: Weather forcast via APRS
WxBot is an APRS-IS listener app that listens for messages and responds with a brief US National Weather Service forecast. International users note, Metar, and CWOP are the only useful queries for locations outside of the United States. Send an APRS message to WXBOT and receive back a weather
sites.google.com
SMSGTE: Text messaging bridge for APRS
smsgte.org
SARTrack Software Package for Search and Rescue
Search and Rescue and Emergency Management Software, and APRS client
sartrack.co.nz